School Reform in a Global Society

(Paperback)

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School Reform in a Global Society is about how a silent, wealthy upper class in the United States waited until the end of the Twentieth Century to transform America into something it once was during the Age of the Robber Barons. Known today as neoliberals, this nostalgic elite, craving the return of the unregulated capitalism of the nineteenth century, see themselves as the new Victorian imperialists. Using the term globalization to mean economic colonialism, their corporate policies force Third World governments, parents and children alike to accept schooling that disregards and damages their cultures. Even in the United States they discovered they could not create their nineteenth century imperial nirvana without first forcing schools to develop an obedient working class that swore allegiance to them. This social history of schools, capitalism, colonialism and its child named globalization is about how those who crave wealth and power are willing to gamble away the lives of American youth to satisfy their dreams of past economic glory.

Reviews

Segall maintains that the upper class "neoliberals" of America are working to satisfy their craving for wealth by establishing imperialist control of developing countries through globalization and creating a subservient and docile working class in America. * Reference and Research Book News *
This work provides the average reader a look into the economic and political forces driving global education reform. Segall relates through situational narrative the dynamics of neoliberal and neconservative policy initiatives and how that political allience is ultimately threatening our social fabric. -- D. Kunneman, Ponca City, Oklahoma
William Segall's brilliant analysis of neoliberal theories of education reform, including high-stakes testing, vouchers, tax credits, and corporate domination of public education, is chilling. This multidisciplinary, cross-cultural exploration of forces at work today sounds an alarm that should be of concern to teachers, teacher educators, and all who value public education. The work is highly informative, thoughtful, serious, and well-researched. -- Dale and Bonnie Johnson

Author Bio

Dr. William Segall is professor of Social Foundations in Oklahoma State University's College of Education and a professor in the University's School of International Studies. His graduate seminars in Ethiopian and Soviet educational systems are noted internationally along with his pioneering undergraduate social foundations curriculums on the role schools play in understanding international problems. Dr. Segall has also taught in Canada and was for a short time a principal of a Japanese juku preparing students for European and American university entrance examinations.